The ISBA Marketing & Communications Committee invites ISBA members to march in the Chicago St. Patrick's Day Parade on March 14. Members can meet the committee at the ISBA Chicago Office, 20 S. Clark, Ste. 900 or join the committee at the parade site, Columbus and Balbo. The exact ISBA parade number will be released the week of the parade.
Contact Chris Bonjean at cbonjean@isba.org if you would like to participate.
Robert J. "Bob" Fuchs' life was one of service to others.
The 85-year-old Army veteran and former Cary mayor and village trustee died Jan. 2 in Lisle.
His vision and leadership helped guide the McHenry County village toward becoming a robust suburban community, while preserving its small-town charm, family members say.
"He was a leader – smart, educated," said Fuchs' daughter Mary Ann McLean of Elmhurst.
Fuchs was a graduate of DePaul University College of Commerce and DePaul Law School. He moved with his family from Chicago to Cary in 1961. He served as a village trustee from 1965 to 1969, when he was elected mayor – a post he held until 1976.
"Being mayor was just one further act of service on his part," McLean said. "He was a role model of hard work and integrity."
As a part-time mayor for a town of 4,500 residents, Fuchs' job didn't end at village hall.
People would call our home all the time," McLean said. "Once we were just having a huge rainstorm in early 1970s. He got a bunch of buckets, got in the car and started helping people bail out their basements. A year or two after that, the village upgraded the storm water system."
Warren Carl Behr, 93, died Sunday, February 1 at Vista Medical Center East. He was born on February 6, 1921, in Oak Park, Illinois, he He spent his early childhood in Cleveland and the family later moved to Chicago. He graduated from Lane Technical High School in 1939 and attended Wright Junior College in Chicago before entering the US Army.
Warren served in the Artillery during World War II and upon returning home married Ruth Helen Collins. They moved to Champaign, Illinois, where he earned a bachelor degree and later a juris doctor degree. He moved to Waukegan with his young family where he was a title officer with Chicago Title and Trust. Later he was appointed Assistant State's Attorney in Lake County and in subsequent years also served as Waukegan Town Clerk and Waukegan Township Supervisor.
He was a longstanding 4th degree member of the Knights of Columbus and served as Grand Knight. He practiced law in private practice until 1993, when he and his wife moved to San Benito, TX. He and his wife returned to Lake County in 2002 and moved to the Victory Lakes Retirement Community in Lindenhurst. At Victory Lakes he was very active in many activities and especially enjoyed singing with the Vocalaires group.
William Kieran “Bill” Bass age 59, passed away peacefully February 9, 2015, after a courageous battle with cancer, surrounded by his family at his home in Evanston. Son of William and Jacqueline Kay Bass, Bill was 1974 graduate of St. John’s Jesuit High School (Toledo, OH) and received a Film degree from New York University. He received his Juris Doctorate cum laude from the University of Toledo. Bill received the prestigious Burton R. Maddux Scholarship for academic achievement and was inducted into the Order of the Coif, legal education’s equivalent of Phi Beta Kappa.
Bill was a veteran trial and appellate attorney who specialized in matrimonial law and father’s rights; he was currently practicing with The Law Firm of Jeffrey Leving Ltd. He recently was awarded the “Heart of the Firm” the firm’s most prestigious award. Bill was an avid reader and a collector of literature and shared his mother’s love for art. He loved music and attended the Lollapalooza music festivals each summer in Chicago with his friends and children. He lit up a room with his sense of humor and loved practical jokes. Bill’s greatest joy was being a father and spending time with his four children
Edward J. Vertovec, of Elmhurst, died on the 12th of January at the age of 91.
Ed was born in Elmhurst on March 13th, 1923, to Frank and Caroline Vertovec. He grew up in Elmhurst with his 5 siblings: Fran, Frank, Carl, Ray, and Jean.
He later graduated from Elmhurst College and received his law degree from DePaul University. During World War II, he served in the Air Force, specializing in radar navigation training.
Following his service, Ed married his beloved wife Betty J. Pace on June 21, 1947. According to Ed, Betty made their 67 years of marriage total happiness and bliss. Ed lived and maintained a local law practice in Elmhurst where he championed numerous public works projects, including the advancement of the Chamber of Commerce and the Elmhurst Park District, along with Co-Chairing the Underpass Committee. Ed was presented the Thousand Points of Light Volunteer Award by President George H.W. Bush in a ceremony in Salt Lake City.
In 1988 Ed and Betty retired to Skidaway Island in Savannah, Georgia. Ed devoted countless hours to his lifelong love of volunteer work, donating his time to multiple organizations including The Chatham County Victim Witness Assistance Program, The Chatham County Juvenile Court Panels (which assisted judges in caring for minors), The Village Library at Skidaway, and The Howard Young Medical Center in Minocqua, Wisconsin.
The law firm of Firsel Ross is pleased to announce that Christine S. Bolger has been named as a partner in the firm.
Bolger, whose practice is concentrated in large and small commercial real estate transactions, has been an attorney with Firsel Ross since 2013 and has worked with both Michael Firsel and Michael Ross since 1998. She represents local and national clients in real estate transactions, including acquiring, selling, leasing, and financing real property located throughout the United States. She has experience handling multi-million dollar complex real estate transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions and financing of shopping centers, multi-family properties, vacant land, multiple parcel assemblages, industrial buildings, hotels, and manufactured home communities. Bolger also maintains a specialty in construction law, and advises clients on general corporate law issues. She holds degrees from the University of Illinois – Chicago and the Loyola University School of Law.
For more information about the Firsel Ross law firm, visit www.rfrlegal.com.
About Firsel Ross:
Husch Blackwell welcomes Associate Jennifer L. Dlugosz to its Chicago office. Dlugosz is a litigator joining the firm’s Technology, Manufacturing & Transportation industry team.
Dlugosz previously served as a litigation associate with Jenner & Block LLP in Chicago (2007-2015). While there, she worked on a variety of complex commercial litigation, including qui tam litigation, product liability, insurance and breach of contract matters, and has litigated in state and federal courts across the country. Initially upon receiving her J.D., Dlugosz served as an attorney for Chicago Metropolis 2020’s CLEAR Initiative (2006-2007), which reviewed and proposed reform of the Illinois Criminal Code.
Dlugosz received her J.D., with high honors, from the Chicago-Kent College of Law (2006), where she graduated Order of the Coif and received five CALI Excellence for the Future awards. Dlugosz received her B.A., magna cum laude, in Business and Politics, from Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, Ill. (2002).
Clients rely on Husch Blackwell’s Technology, Manufacturing & Transportationteam of multidisciplinary attorneys to handle industry-specific challenges head-on. From sourcing and transporting raw materials to distributing manufactured products globally, the firm is immersed in all aspects of the industrial production sector.
About Husch Blackwell
Evanston Township High School’s team was victorious at the recent 19th Annual Northwest Suburban Bar Association Mock Trial Invitational. The contest was held on February 18, 2015 in the courtrooms of the Circuit Court of Cook County’s Third Municipal District in Rolling Meadows. Twenty-four local high school teams, comprised of over 400 students, participated in this Invitational.
Kevin Kappock, Mock Trial Team Coach at Evanston High School was thrilled with his teams’ triumph.
“The NWSBA Mock Trial is one of the premier high school competitions in Illinois. Our team has always considered it a highlight of the season and we are thrilled to have been honored with this year’s first place. The NWSBA has consistently demonstrated an unsurpassed dedication to high school mock trials and the education of our students,” said Kappock.
St. Charles North High School took second place, finishing a mere six points out of first, and Chicago Christian High School landed third. Individual honors were awarded to Elena Von Stee from Timothy Christian High School for Outstanding Attorney and Lucia Garrett from Maine West High School for Outstanding Witness. The students were judged on a point-scale of not-effective (1) to outstanding (5) on various courtroom roles, from witness performance, direct exam by attorneys and cross and recross exam by attorneys.
Seasoned trial attorney, Tammy L. Wade, brings her medical malpractice defense practice to Johnson & Bell. Ms. Wade joins Johnson & Bell as a shareholder. Her addition to the firm further strengthens Johnson & Bell’s Health Care practice, which already represents many of the largest and most sophisticated hospital and nursing home providers in metropolitan Chicago and northwest Indiana.
“Demand for legal services continues to grow for our health care clients in Chicago and northwest Indiana,” stated Brian C. Fetzer, shareholder and co-chair of the firm’s Health Care group. “Tammy’s addition not only deepens our group’s trial experience, but she is also adding some great clients to our firm.”
Ms. Wade concentrates her practice on the defense of hospitals, physicians, nurses and other health care professionals in all phases of medical malpractice litigation. She also represents clients in commercial litigation matters and has extensive experience in complex product liability litigation. She is recognized by the American Hospital Association as a Certified Professional in Healthcare Risk Management. Prior to joining Johnson & Bell, Ms. Wade was a Partner at Ruff, Weidenaar & Reidy, Ltd (nka Ruff, Freud, Breems & Nelson Ltd.).
Motherway & Napleton LLP has added Brion W. Doherty as an associate.
Doherty's practice is focused on trials involving serious injury and wrongful death. He handles cases stemming from auto and truck accidents, medical malpractice, unsafe property conditions, civil rights violations, construction accidents, and dangerous products.
He has obtained numerous favorable jury verdicts and settlements for his clients over the years. Among those accomplishments, he helped obtain a verdict of $1.3 million verdict for a client seriously injured due to unsafe property conditions at a service station.
In addition to his legal work, Brion is active in several local and national lawyers' groups. He serves as on the Chicago Bar Foundation's Board, is a member of the Illinois Trial Lawyer's Association, acts as the secretary for Chicago Volunteer Legal Services' Board of Directors, and is an active member of the Illinois State Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association.
Brion has been named a "Rising Star" by Super Lawyers every year from 2010 to 2015. He has been a regular columnist for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, a prominent legal newspaper in Chicago, since 2012.
Brion obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 2001 and his legal degree from DePaul University College of Law in 2007.